The Devil’s tunesmith retreated here after the success of Tubular Bells to write that difficult second album…
How do you follow a record that sold millions, stayed in the album charts for five years and was used as the soundtrack for one of the most iconic films of the decade: The Exorcist?
This was the task facing Mike Oldfield when he moved to The Beacon, on Bradnor Hill near the town of Kington on the Welsh/English borders.
The second album was called Hergest Ridge – the name of a local landmark in these parts. The cover featured Bootleg, an Irish Wolfhound from Richard Branson’s The Manor studio, and a hand glider Oldfield liked to fly from the ridge.
Was it any good? Well judging by the samples below, it’s trippy, ambient stuff with folky overtones – so well atuned to long-haired flare-wearing types who like a bit of moody Celtic soul while staring at the ceiling.
Where Oldfield led, Enya followed – he has a lot to answer for!
No doubting his immense talent, though – the album lists him as playing Electric guitars, Glockenspiel, Sleigh bells, Mandolin, Nutcracker, Timpani, Gong, Acoustic guitar, Spanish guitar, Farfisa, Lowery and Gemini organs. It entered the UK album charts at number one, only to be displaced by its predecessor, Tubular Bells.
As for the house – it was built in the 20s and sits about 1,000 feet up on Bradnor Hill.
The views are awesome – but bear in mind that the place is a bit of a pilgrimage site for Oldfield fans … so don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning to find people called Blue Dolphin and Moonchildhippy cavorting on the lawn.
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